Jack Willis was an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – first as an instructor at the FBI Academy, then as an FBI Special Agent. In 1994, he was shot by criminal Warren Dupre, whose personality subsequently inhabited Willis' body while Willis' own personality was almost entirely lost. Jack Willis was also diabetic. — (Lazarus)
Biographical Information[]
Early Life & Relationship with Scully[]
Jack Willis was born on February 23, 1957. He was an only child. He later attended college but both his parents died during this period.
Willis was Dana Scully's instructor at the FBI Academy. For almost a year, he dated Scully, who had the same birthday as him. He commonly seemed to Scully to be intense and relentlessly determined; she thought it was always virtually impossible for him to relax. The couple routinely celebrated their joint birthday in an establishment in Stafford that had a slanted pool table; Scully would later describe this location as "some dive."
One December, the couple drove up to Pine Barrens in a snowstorm and then spent a weekend (the one after Thanksgiving) there, during which they stayed in a cabin that had belonged to Jack's parents and he taught Scully how to fish through the ice. The cabin had a red, wood-burning stove in the middle of the room but Willis had to wrap Scully in a blanket when the wood ran out.
In 1991, Willis was given a watch from Scully. The back of this watch was inscribed with the message, "Happy 35th. Love D."
Investigating the Dupre Partners & Death[]
Willis kept an FBI field journal between April and October 1993, and recorded many field notes about Warren Dupre and his criminal partner, Lula Phillips, who were married in May of that year. In one such recording, Willis stated, "I feel myself getting into their heads, and I'm scared by what I'm feeling. The intoxicating freedom that comes from disconnecting action and consequence. Theirs is a world where nothing matters but their own needs, their own impossible appetites. And while the pleasure they derive from acts of violence is clearly sexual, it also speaks to what Warden Jackson called their "operatic devotion to each other". It's a love affair... I almost envy."
Agent Willis impatiently waits with Agent Scully, in the Maryland Marine Bank.
In 1994, Willis' address began with "51 Stanhope". In the same year, Willis was unknowingly answering a call from Lula Phillips when he acted on a tip that she and Warren Dupre would attempt to rob the Maryland Marine Bank one evening. Willis participated in a group FBI effort to stop this robbery and was in the bank, impatiently waiting with Scully (who was now an FBI Special Agent, herself) at 5:55 p.m. on the appropriate evening. Even though Scully quietly tried to verbally persuade him to relax, he related to her his concern that the bank was set to close in five minutes and, when she asked if he was sure that the tip had been reliable, he answered with certainty that the tip was real. Willis added that his ability to know the difference between a bogus tip and a real one was due to the length of time he had been studying the criminal partners and his sense that he was inside their heads, but Scully teasingly warned him that her only concern was that he keep his own head. Willis smiled and acknowledged that he had understood her message before he began to send a softly spoken transmission to another agent, asking if that agent was receiving.
Moments after a masked and armed Warren Dupre entered the bank – soon after Willis' discussion with Scully – Willis aimed his own gun at Dupre, revealing his identity as an FBI agent, just as the criminal had begun to rob the bank. Willis ordered Dupre to drop his weapon but it was then that Willis was shot by Dupre, who was then shot three times by Scully in turn.
Willis was hospitalized but his pulse had already stopped and he was soon pronounced dead by the resident medical practitioners. It was thanks to a determined Scully that Willis was physically revived. However, she was not yet aware that his body was now occupied by Dupre, whose own body had died on a nearby gurney.
Some of Willis' memories, while he was physically inhabited by Dupre, seemed to eventually return but he finally died of complications relating to Jack's diabetes. — (Lazarus)
Background Information[]
Jack Willis was played by Christopher Allport.
As Lazarus was initially written, the role of Jack Willis did not yet exist because the original concept was for Dupre's soul to transfer to Mulder's body. The change was only made after Fox argued against using the character of Mulder in this manner, as there was a common thinking (at that point) that none of the regular characters should themselves experience such phenomena, directly. Although the producers agreed to make the change with more than a little reluctance, writer Howard Gordon ultimately valued the introduction of Scully's boyfriend, believing it had provided a welcome opportunity to explore her history.